It was 150 years ago that the name “Winchester” was first stamped on a rifle. But Winchester’s narrative began well before that, and it is a tale tied to the American West, to the wars of the 20th century, to big personalities such as John Browning and John Olin, and to the manufacture of billions of cartridges and millions of rifles and shotguns beloved by generations of Americans.
They say the early bird gets the worm, but the early hunter gets the bird. Lots of birds, especially out West where seasons open as early as late August.
In a YouTube video declared by Deadspin's Barry Petchesky as the "most West Virginia video ever," the West Virginia Mountaineer mascot is shown shooting a bear from a tree with his official school-issued musket. The mascot, senior Jonathan Kimble, was hunting in his native West Virginia and, obviously, had chosen a hound hunt as his tactic.The video has since been deleted by the user, but was reposted by Deadspin.